Gospel fossil park vs. Cheryll

These creationist museums seem to be popping up all over the place. The latest here in Florida is “Noah’s Park” at the Middle Florida Baptist Assembly grounds near Branford at Pickett Lake in Lafayette County. Of course, these folks are free to talk about dinosaurs floating around on Noah’s Ark, but take a look at who they wish to target with their nonsense.

Dampier added that Baird’s presentations at Vacation Bible Schools, homeschool groups, and public or private schools is a good opportunity for youth primarily taught the theory of evolution to be exposed to a biblical worldview.

“He’s doing his ministry and as he goes to churches and schools and other things like that he’s also going to promote the assembly ground,” Dampier said. “So we’re trying to help him and help us also.”

Baird, who is a former lecturer for an apologetics ministry, Answers in Genesis, said having a permanent place for the museum allows him to make it more attractive, making it easier to attract public school groups.

“If you went to what they would call a normal museum they’d give you all their evolutionary dogma,” Baird said. “They don’t tell you that they’re giving you evolution and it’s not that I have … to say I’m a Bible-believing creationist; I just present the evidence.”

The museum and assembly grounds gives an “entertaining way to preach at ’em,” Baird said.

“People who may not go to church … still get some biblical influence … as they come to look at the telescope or come to a planetarium presentation or come breezing through the museum,” Baird said. “And that’s what it’s all about.”

In contrast to the creationists’ misuse of their fossils, the Plantation Historical Museum (Broward County) is hosting a dinosaur display featuring Cheryll the triceratops. Now, there’s the real thing being used for a good purpose.

”This is a very nice find,” said Robert DePalma, assistant curator of paleontology at the Palm Beach museum, who was on the team that discovered Cheryll. “It’s especially great for museums because this is the kind of things kids love, and it makes a great teaching tool.”

”Everyone loves dinosaurs,” Pascucci said. “Even though there were no dinosaurs in southern Florida, people want to see them.”

About Brandon Haught

Communications Director for Florida Citizens for Science.
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5 Responses to Gospel fossil park vs. Cheryll

  1. Bryan O says:

    It is dreadful to see Baptists endorsing ignorance. I attended Baylor University a half century ago. Divinity did NOT dictate to Arts & Scieences. Flood geology was a popular opinion amongst the “theologs”. As a lab assistant in the Geology Dept our mantra was: You don’t have to believe it but you are responsible for the material.
    These “Big Cheese” Baptists (see:Danbury Baptists + Jefferson) don’t hijack faith by denying science. They do teach the Baptist doctrine of “The Priesthood of Every Believer”. The interpreter of scripture who claims “inerrancy” is a liar fronting a Synagog of Satan that parts people from community, knowlwdge and currence.

  2. Peter F. says:

    I work for the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, the museum who put together the “Expedition Dinosaur” traveling exhibit featuring Cheryll the Triceratops. One of our missions is to bring natural history education to the public. I find it quite distressing that non-scientific and pseudo-scientific organizations receive donations, whilst our organization has to make do with little funding. I do wonder where this is all heading?

  3. Juliet M says:

    I agree with peter and I am currently less than 10 miles from the 27 billion dollar creation museum located in KY. They make it attractive to kids who will never know evolution and the natural world around them. Instead they think that if it is in a museum, it must be true. Broward Co. and Palm Beach really needs a natural history museum to teach kids evolution, paleo, arch and so forth. Pretty sad that so many people buy into this stuff. Are we in a de-evolution stage?

  4. Patty F says:

    I also work for the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History. “Expedition Dinosaur” is so much more than just an exhibit. The woman who Cheryll is named after wanted one thing to come out of the excavation of Cheryl, and that was that she be used to teach the public about dinosaurs. She spent all of her life as a teacher, a life that ended much to soon. She died one year after Cheryll was discovered. The exhibit is our way of fulling her wish. Peter said it better than I could. We make do with Very little funding.
    But the staff of the museum are the hardest working group of young people I have ever worked with. They will keep on till we one day have the funding we need. Why? It is the look in a young child’s eyes when they see Cheryll. When that light comes on in one child’s eye and you know that someday they will stand were you are and teach the next generation of Archaeologist or Paleontologist. That makes it all worthwhile. If we lose our History we lose ourselves.

  5. Eric says:

    Your museum sounds like a wonderful place. I will have to check it out. Just so you know your museum can recieve donations as a tax exempt organization just like the other groups along with public moneys the other groups cannot get. Maybe you were saying that you wish you did and they didn’t. Your inference made it sound like the “fact” was that you had to make it withot donations only federal money this other group doesn’t get. This whole fact thing seems kinda tough.

    “We ask that anyone who may be interested in making a financial contribution to the museum please contact our development manager. The Palm Beach Museum of Natural History is a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization and contributions are tax deductable under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. We are also qualified to receive tax deductable bequests, devices, transferes or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the code.”From PBMNH Web Site
    Sorry you have to make due.

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